Masculine Identity

In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare attempts to define manhood and explore the different perceptions held towards what it means to be a man. As William Liston notes in his essay, “Man appears more than 40 times, almost always with a conscious sense of defining the term—or rather, of defining a person by the term” (232). Lady Macbeth is used as a tool to not only convey this theme, but she instigates the plot as well. Without her consistent scorn and ridicule of Macbeth and his “femininity”, he would most likely have never killed King Duncan or performed any of the other murders that occur throughout the play. Specifically speaking, the word choice of Lady Macbeth as well as her actions are what propel her husband into acting himself. Eventually, Macbeth’s overall attitude changes as a result of his wife’s ridicule. While Lady Macbeth undoubtedly spurs her husband into action, it is important to note that by the end of the play, she has lost what influence she had over him as well as her ability to control her own emotions.

The word identity has become the most discussed idea in our society. It is described mostly, to be a word that stands for who we are. Therefore, because of who we are, identity has come to be a word that we use to claim and understand people’s actions in our society. So in this paper I will be analysing how social practices surrounding identity relates to gender in social, personal levels, through the work of three authors; by Ian Hacking on “kind making”, Margaret Somers on “Narrative construction of identity” and finally, Frederick Cooper and Rogers Brubaker on “beyond identity” . However, I will tilt more toward Frederick Cooper and Rogers Bruakers article on identity. This is because I feel that their article contributes better to my

Transgender can be defined as a person whose self-identity does not conform precisely to conventional notions of the male or female gender. This self-identity problem can usually be accompanied by numerous forms of treatment to change ones’ physical appearance, and make it more consistent with their identified gender identity. In many cases, the individual can identify with the gender of the opposite sex to the point one believes that he or she is a member of that gender group trapped in the wrong body. This is also called Gender Dysphoria or formerly known as Gender Identity Disorder. The person with gender dysphoria or GD at times does not know that he or she have an actual disorder but more of a general discomfort with his or her biological sex. This also creates complications in their everyday life, when they are unable to interpret their feelings or rationalize problems they experience in a social setting (Gender Dysphoria, 2014).

Generally, there are not as many documented physical abuse cases for men as there are for women. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (2014), men are less likely to seek help when it comes to physical abuse. “1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) aged 18 and older in the United States have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime” (National Domestic Violence Hotline, 2014). The stigma revolving around masculinity and how society views men teaches them not to express their feelings and see themselves as victims. The common stereotype is that men are seen as the abusers and women are seen as victims, therefore men who express their feelings are seen as weak and incapable of being a “man”.

What is gender? Most people feel as though gender consists only of the terms “boy“ & “girl“ , but it’s so much more than that. Gender is a very complex reality that is not just about what genetalia you have. In this paper I will explore all the subcategories and misconceptions of gender.

During the passage, Henry’s voice expresses his genuine sympathy for Catherine as he watches her suffer through child birth. He later watches her die after their child was pronounced dead. Henry has been extremely pessimistic about the birth, the baby and Catherine which foreshadows this dreadful ending, “[Henry] But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially,” (249). In the passage Henry is shown cursing God for Catherine’s suffering and sarcastically thanking God for the anesthesia that she wouldn’t have needed if she wasn’t in agony. Overall the tone of this excerpt is lamenting.

What was the most surprising thing you've learned from the readings about masculinities in the past? Do you see traces of these older models of masculinity still around today?

Many of us black men, do not know how to be men. Why? Because we were raised by women, and half the time, irresponsible women. Some men play football or go to the military to find out what being a man is all about. Being a man is not based on how many women you slept with, used or abused. It is also not based how tough you are, how many kids you have, how many men you killed, or how often you are in and out of jail. Being a man is being real, responsible, mature, logical, taking care of yourself, and whatever is around you. Masculine energy consists of purpose, mission, passion, setting goals, breaking through barriers, etc. Masculine energy grows through challenge; stepping up to the plate, being a leader, being passionate about, or have some

From Schrock, Schwalbe, Pyke and Johnson, we know that there are two subsections in both masculinity and femininity: hegemonic, and subordinate. The hegemony in both gender identities is typically associated with the white, middle class individuals, while the subordination is associated with anything other: the people of color, the economically marginalized, and the non-heterosexuals. Because it is hard to fit into the hegemonic masculinity/femininity, those of people who do not have membership to the hegemony makes “adjustments”; through these adjustments, the definitions of specific subordinated masculinity and femininity are re-inscribed. (Schrock and Schwalbe, 2008)

Every morning I would plead and cry until I got to wear blue jeans and my Superman

To lead a community into uncertainty in earlier times was based on whether you were able to physically protect the people within. The position of a leader one thousand years ago could only determined by physical strength. Since men are biologically structured to be stronger, this resulted in men being the first leaders of society. This culture of a male-dominated society based on the archaic view of physicality is composed of more flaws than fairness towards today’s larger component of society, women.

Throughout today’s society, almost every aspect of someone’s day is based whether or not he or she fits into the “norm” that has been created. Specifically, masculine and feminine norms have a great impact that force people to question “am I a true man or woman?” After doing substantial research on the basis of masculine or feminine norms, it is clear that society focuses on the males being the dominant figures. If males are not fulfilling the masculine role, and females aren’t playing their role, then their gender identity becomes foggy, according to their personal judgment, as well as society’s.

As soon as I begin my journey home from classes, I am already prepared. In one hand, my phone is ready with the contacts list already scrolled down to my boyfriend’s name, in the other, keys that hold my pepper spray. I am not preparing myself for anything specific. In fact, I am not usually worried about anything specific at all, but I have heard all the stories about (attempted) abductions, rapes, and murders from the Charlottesville Community Alerts that emphasize our “right to know”. My anxiety increases with every new alert. I do not want to be the star in the next tragic story. This is irrational, but the fear is real. When you are walking alone and a man is approaching you, is your first reaction fear? If you are a boy, I presume that you do not even notice there is another male within your vicinity. If you are a girl, I understand your sentiment. Every night it is a race against the clock as I hurriedly meander my way through the University of Virginia (UVa) Grounds to get to the corner where my apartment is located. Appropriately, in this paper I describe a daily occurrence of how I cope with my gendered privilege, or lack thereof, and how it intersects with class. As such, I will draw on the works by Butler on gender identity and its male and feminine attributes, Jackson Jr. on conveying class privilege, and lastly a blog by James St. James to further enhance the experience of being a female on and around a university by contrasting it to a male’s perspective on

My entire life I grew up learning girls wore pink, dresses, loved sparkles, painted their nails, loved to shop, played with babies, played dress up, dreamed of their wedding day, loved the Disney Princess movies, and that boys had cooties. I never knew anything different and honestly I never put much thought into how different I had grown up because the only boy in my house was my dad and he obviously wasn’t playing with boy or girl toys, so I just thought that’s how it was, girls did girl things and boys did boy things. Plain and simple, that’s how I thought everyone grew up until I started working at a daycare. I started realizing that boys were starting to put pretty pink princess dresses on and I thought it was odd, I remember going to my mom and asking what we should do about that and she said it was completely normal and that there was nothing to say or do that that is just how kids play and that it was natural. It’s not that my parents made me only play with girl things either, that’s just all we had. My older sister and I would play day and night with our Littlest Pet Shops, Webkinz, or American Girl Dolls, I think that’s just all we knew that’s all we got for our birthdays and Christmas presents and that’s all we ever asked for. I think growing up with strictly girl toys has made me into an extreme girly girl, I love to get my nails done honestly probably a problem, my entire wedding is already planned for and I don’t even have a

In the early hours on June 28, 1969, police stormed into the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar and refuge. The police began to batter the people inside the bar and arrested thirteen others. As the violence escalated, bottles, coins, and stones were thrown at the police. Activist Sylvia Rivera was one of the first to throw a bottle into the ranks of police officers; she exclaimed, “It’s the Revolution!” Those bottles thrown in retaliation to discrimination and assault marked the beginning of a movement to bring about rights and acceptance for the LGBT community. My metaphorical bottles were thrown timidly under the table at first, but now, they sail across the sky in a perfect arc and crash against the constrictions placed around the rights of LGBT Americans, the constrictions once placed around me. The journey I’ve been undergoing since discovering my sexuality has been one similar to a labyrinth with all of its dead ends and confusion. My journey has undergone an immense amount of evolution that has transformed me into the person I am today.